Sony Increases Prices of Annual PlayStation Plus Plans by up to $40
Following Microsoft’s announcement to raise Game Pass subscription fees, Sony is now following suit by increasing the annual prices of all three PlayStation Plus plans on September 6th.
An annual Essential subscription will soon cost $80 per year, down from $60. The Extra plan will increase by $35 to $135 per year, while the annual Premium plan will soon cost $40 more at $160. The price changes won’t take effect for existing PS Plus users on an annual contract until their next renewal date is on or after November 6. If you make any changes to your plan on or after September 6th (such as changing tiers), the new pricing will apply.
Sony hasn’t announced any changes to monthly ($10 Essential, $15 Extra, and $18 Premium) or quarterly ($25 Essential, $40 Extra, and $50 Premium). It notes that an annual plan is still more affordable than a monthly or quarterly subscription in the long run.
You still have a few days left to put an extra year (or two or three) into your current PS Plus contract at current prices. It’s too early to tell if it’s worth waiting until Black Friday for better deals, so if you’ve got the cash to spare, now might be the time to add some extra time to your plan.
Sony notes that it’s raising PS Plus plans worldwide so “we can continue to bring high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service.” This is perhaps a tough case considering the three monthly games available for all three tiers in September: the Saints Row reboot, Black Desert – Traveler Edition, and (a game I’m admittedly interested in) Generation Zero, all of which have average or poor ratings.
Although they are slightly different, it’s worth noting that PS Plus is generally cheaper than the equivalent Game Pass tiers. An annual PS Plus Essential contract is $52 less than a year’s worth of Xbox Game Pass, while a 12-month PS Plus Premium membership is $44 less than Game Pass Ultimate for the same period.
However, Microsoft offers access to all first-party games through Game Pass after they’re released, which is an attractive proposition that Sony can’t match. The new Game Pass Core tier (which replaces Xbox Live Gold) costs $60 per year and includes full online multiplayer and an original library of 25 games.
